Sermon on 31 October 2021 by Ps Caleb
Matthew 16:15-20 - “Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”
Why did God gather us as a body in the church? When we know His purpose, it liberates us as we align with His plans. The powers of darkness will not stop the church from doing the will of God. Unfortunately, in many places, the plans of the enemies have cracked into the church and weakened the church. Instead of resisting it, we allow their plans to manifest.
2 Corinthians 2:14 - “But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.”
It is the desire of God to lead us in triumph. God is victorious. The biggest blessing is when we see people coming into His Kingdom. This happens when we share the gospel and they receive Christ and eternal life. The promise of God allows us to triumph. Wherever we go, we bring the knowledge of God and His presence. The Holy Spirit begins to unfold and release the sweet aroma of Him.
2 Corinthians 2:15 - “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.”
It is a mysterious thing that God is working in the believers life. We don’t know how much the Spirit of God wants to work in our life. The day is coming where this will be a reality. The church that Jesus is building will experience that. God’s word will never go empty. When the word of God is spoken, it will come to pass.
The church exists for 4 purposes. The first reason for existence is key to unlock the other 3 purposes.
God rescued us from the power of darkness and pulled us into His marvelous kingdom. The church doesn’t live in darkness. It is set free. It is in the Kingdom of God. We allow the life of the Kingdom of God to flow into our life.
1 Peter 2:9 - “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
1. Minister to the Lord
The first priority of our life is to spend time with God. People love to talk but they have no time to listen to His word. People are not spending time with God but they love spending time with people. Spending time with God is like a burden. This is why we aren’t experiencing 2 Corinthians 2:14. We are not spending the time that God wants us to spend with Him. We function in the presence of God. We have to minister to God first and honour Him because He is worthy of all honour. (2 Chronicles 59)
In the modern day church, honouring God is not a lifestyle because we have brought too many things to misalign with the word of God. The church of Jesus is very weak and fearful now. This pandemic has exposed many fears. If the church is fearful, what hope does the world have? The church is the light and the salt. The church is weak because they have neglected their ministry. God is the one who is calling us to linger in His presence. It is God who wants to manifest His presence in the light of the church and the people. It is God who wants to bring blessing in the light of His people. He will manifest the knowledge of Him through us in many places. The ministry to God is the first purpose of the church. When He manifests, He manifests the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 6:11 - “Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.”
We know that we are lacking the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Ministry of God opens the door to the other ministries. Set your priority right and align yourself with the purposes of God. You are a chosen generation. You are the holy people of God.
Hebrews 13:15 - “Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.”
The chief purpose is to glorify and worship God. All things were created by God for Him and for His pleasure.
Revelations 4:11 - ““You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.””
The church is redeemed to be a worshipping community.
Psalms 29:1-2 - “Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for his glory and strength. Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”
The congregation was God the Father, and Jesus Christ the Lion and the Lamb of God.
Revelations 4:5 - “From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.”
2. Minister to one another
The Church encourages one another in the Lord. The ministry of God edifies and increases itself in love.
Ephesians 4:9-16 - “Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself. Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
The saints are to be built up in the most holy faith and built up as to holiness of character and conformity to the image of Christ.
We are doing it sometimes but we know we lack the boldness too. Sometimes you hold grudges against one other. We want to be effective in ministering to one another such that we can move together in the Lord's word for the day of the Lord is coming. To minister to one another, we need to minister to God first as the anointing comes from Him. When there’s unity, God commands His blessings. To see the blessings of His in the body of Christ, minister to God first. This opens the door to minister to one another.
John 13:33-35 - “Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.””
We should comfort one another, build one another in faith, forgive one another, forbear one another, submit to one another, reach one another, pray for one another and fellowship with one another.
3. Minister to the unsaved
The church is to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world before the end of this age comes.
Matthew 24:14 - “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”
It’s God’s desire that none shall perish but all to be saved by the saving grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has given the church the task to preach the word.
Luke 4:18 - ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free,”
When we minister to God, praise Him for what He has done and enjoy the sweet presence of God.
4. Ministry in pulling down strongholds
The battle is spiritual. We pull down strongholds that oppose people from knowing Christ.
God has already won against all battles. The enemies only want to make us think that they are powerful. Jesus gave the authority to the church (Matthew 16). What we see in heaven is what we speak on Earth. That revelation comes when we minister to God and His word. He gives us the power to overcome the darkness. The word of God sets us free. The people in the world are waiting to be delivered and to be set free from darkness but they don’t know how to be set free. To have the anointing manifest, we need to be a royal priest.
Let us practice speaking to God more than complaining.
Amen.
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